ZIP 56016 vs ZIP 56007

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56016 (Clarks Grove, MN) and ZIP 56007 (Albert Lea, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56016 has a population of 1,096 at 16 people per square mile, while ZIP 56007 has 21,228 at 49 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 56016 reports a median household income of $89,583 against $68,846 in ZIP 56007, with per-capita income of $48,268 vs $39,953. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.2% in 56016 and 18.2% in 56007. Poverty rate reads 9.1% vs 11.7%, and unemployment 2.7% vs 5.2% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $209,900 in 56016 versus $166,900 in 56007, with median rent of $865 and $855 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.0% vs 76.7%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.